New Delhi, Nov. 11 -- Fixed deposits are a preferred investment avenue for risk-averse investors who seek predictable, assured returns and wish to avoid volatility associated with market-linked investments such as mutual funds and stocks.

However depositors may sometimes fail to claim their maturity proceeds on time, either because overlook notifications from the bank or do not receive them at all. Banks typically send reminders before an FD matures, but the next course of action can be initiated once the deposit reaches maturity, regardless of whether the depositor has read the notification or not.

In such cases, the accumulated corpus remains intact but the interest earned on the amount after maturity may differ from the original FD r...